Dallas

Federal court declines to reopen Roe v. Wade

A federal district court dismissed a request by the one-time plaintiff known as “Jane Roe” to reconsider the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion 30 years ago.

The court said late Thursday that Norma McCorvey’s request wasn’t made within a “reasonable time” after the 1973 judgment in Roe v. Wade.

McCorvey, who joined the anti-abortion fight 10 years ago, filed the “motion for relief from judgment” Tuesday, asking the court to reopen the case and conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into scientific and anecdotal evidence that she says shows abortion hurts women.

Washington, D.C.

U.S. closes Kenya embassy after terrorist threat

The Defense Department has alerted U.S. interests in Kenya to a terrorist threat, prompting the closure of the American Embassy in Nairobi, officials said Friday.

The Pentagon also raised the threat level in the East African nation to “high” based on information about a threat against a specific target, a defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The warning, the highest of four levels, was issued Thursday.

The alert came after U.S. intelligence received fresh reports suggesting al-Qaida operatives in Kenya were going ahead with plans to carry out an attack, said one U.S. official.

Virginia

Sniper defense investigators given more time for case

Investigators working for sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo’s defense can spend more than twice as much time on the case as originally allocated, a judge ruled Friday.

Fairfax County Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush ruled the three investigators could each work up to 300 more hours on the case. The time, billed at a rate of $70 per hour plus expenses, is in addition to the 200 hours Roush initially approved.

Malvo, 18, and John Allen Muhammad, 42, have been linked to 20 shootings, including 13 deaths, in Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. Muhammad is awaiting trial Oct. 14 in neighboring Prince William County.

Greece

Nations urge more debate on EU constitution

Italy and three other nations at the European Union summit pushed Friday to reopen a contentious debate about mentioning God in the EU’s new constitution.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, meanwhile, promised to block attempts to use the charter to transform Europe into a “federal superstate.”

As riot police used tear gas and clubs to disperse protesters, the assembled EU leaders also acknowledged the importance of relations with the United States and endorsed a common strategy for dealing with global security threats, including terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.